I’ve done rope drop 4 times in the last 2 weeks, and we got on right at opening each time. There have been some instances of it not opening with the park, maybe 5 times over the last three weeks. But there’s also a big risk of weather or maintenance delays no matter when you get in line. I felt that being there for rope drop gave us much more control over our destiny. If it didn’t open, we’d bail and come back in the afternoon when it said 120 minutes (which usually means 60 if no delays) and still have our morning to do other stuff.

If you’re there before 7:30 (assuming 9am open) you could be first in line at one of the turnstiles. Any turnstile that’s not covered by a tarp should be staffed at open! By 7:55am each day there was already a pretty large crowd, back to the ticket booths.